Washing machine

ABSTRACT

A washing machine is provided. The washing machine includes a rear cabinet cover, a front cabinet cover, and a gasket. The rear cabinet cover includes a rear fabric opening through which fabrics pass. The front cabinet cover is disposed at a front side of the rear cabinet cover and includes a front fabric opening corresponding to the rear fabric opening. The gasket includes a screening portion for covering a periphery of the rear fabric opening.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a washing machine.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, washing machines include a drum in which laundries such asgarments, linens, and fabrics (hereinafter, referred to collectively asfabrics) are washed by water and detergent (hereinafter, referred to aswash water) fed into a tub in washing mode. Then, the garments arerinsed and excess water is extracted from the garments in rinsing andspinning modes.

During use or transportation of the washing machine, a cabinet cover ofthe washing machine can be scratched or deformed, causing degradation inappearance. Further, users may be surfeited with the frontal appearanceof the washing machine after long use of the washing machine. Inaddition, since the cabinet cover is coated with a coating material, themanufacturing process of the cabinet is complicated and manufacturingcosts increases.

To eliminate such disadvantages, the cabinet cover can be constructedincluding: a non-coated rear cabinet cover having a fabric opening in acenter portion; and an exchangeable, injection-molded plastic frontcabinet cover which has a fabric opening larger than the fabric openingof the rear cabinet cover and covers a front side of the rear cabinetcover. In this case, the frontal cosmetic appearance of the washingmachine can be improved by exchanging the front cabinet cover. However,water can reach the rear cabinet cover through the fabric opening andcorrode the rear cabinet cover. Further, although the rear cabinet covercan be formed to have the same color as the front cabinet cover forcosmetic purposes or the exposed portion of the rear cabinet cover bythe fabric opening can be coated with a coating material, thesemodifications will entail complicated manufacturing processes andincreased material costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a washing machine thatsubstantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations anddisadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine thathas a sealing structure for preventing water form reaching a rearcabinet cover through a fabric opening.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may berealized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in thewritten description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein,there is provided a washing machine including: a rear cabinet coverincluding a rear fabric opening through which fabrics pass; a frontcabinet cover disposed at a front side of the rear cabinet cover andincluding a front fabric opening corresponding to the rear fabricopening; and a gasket including a screening portion for covering aperiphery of the rear fabric opening.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a washingmachine including: a tub including a tub fabric opening through whichfabrics pass; a rear cabinet cover disposed at a front side of the tuband including a rear fabric opening through which fabrics pass; a frontcabinet cover disposed at a front side of the rear cabinet cover andincluding a front fabric opening corresponding to the rear fabricopening; and a gasket including a tub coupling portion coupled to thetub, a cover coupling portion coupled to at least one of the frontcabinet cover and the rear cabinet cover, a connection portionconnecting the tub coupling portion and the cover coupling portion, anda screening portion formed on the cover coupling portion to cover aperiphery of the rear fabric opening for sealing up the rear cabinetcover.

In a further another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda washing machine including: a cabinet cover including a fabric openingthrough which fabrics pass; and a gasket sealing an inside of thecabinet cover and covering a periphery of the fabric opening.

According to the washing machine of the present invention, the gasketincludes the screening portion covering the fabric opening, such thatthe fabric opening of the rear cabinet is not exposed to the outside.Thus, water cannot flow into the rear cabinet cover through the fabricopening, thereby preventing corrosion of the rear cabinet cover.Further, the rear cabinet cover is not required to have the same coloras the front cabinet cover or be coated with a coating material.Therefore, the rear cabinet cover can be manufactured through a simpleprocess with less cost.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a washing machine according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the washing machine depictedin FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of portion A of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a washing machine according to thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the washing machine includes a cabinet 3 and acabinet cover 50 attached to a front side of the cabinet 3.

The cabinet cover 50 includes a fabric opening 51 for putting fabricsinto the washing machine and taking the fabrics out of the washingmachine. A door 52 is installed on the cabinet cover 50 for opening andclosing the fabric opening 51.

A hinge member 53 is installed between the cabinet cover 50 and the door52 for allowing rotation of the door 52.

The door 52 includes a hook 54 protruded from a portion opposite to thehinge member 53, and the cabinet cover 50 includes a switch 55 forlocking/unlocking the hook 54.

A control panel 80 is disposed above the cabinet cover 50.

Further, a deco panel 100 is attached along left, bottom, right, sidesof the cabinet cover 50 and left, top, and right sides of the controlpanel 80.

The deco panel 100 is used for protecting the cabinet 50 and the controlpanel 80 and increasing the frontal cosmetic appearance of the washingmachine. The deco panel 100 may be provided in one piece or include aplurality of deco panel members 110, 120, 130, and 140 attached aroundthe cabinet cover 50 and the control panel 80. Hereinafter, only thelatter case will be described.

The deco panel member 110 is a bottom deco panel member disposed on thebottom side of the cabinet 50. The deco panel member 120 is a left decopanel member disposed on the left side of the cabinet cover 50. The decopanel member 130 is a right deco panel member disposed on the right sideof the cabinet cover 50. The deco panel member 140 is a top deco panelmember disposed along the left, top, and right sides of the controlpanel 80.

Reference numeral 300 denotes a gasket that prevents wash water andfabrics from flowing into the fabric opening 51 between the cabinetcover 50 and a tub.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the washing machine depictedin FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the washing machine includes a front upper frame200 installed between front upper ends of the cabinet 3, and a frontlower frame 210 installed between front lower ends of the cabinet 3.

The cabinet cover 50 includes a rear cabinet cover 60 and a frontcabinet cover 70. The front cabinet cover 70 covers a front side of therear cabinet cover 60 and forms the frontal exterior of the washingmachine.

The rear cabinet cover 60 is formed of metal using various methods suchas press die casting. Hereinafter, the case where the rear case cover 60is formed by the press die casting will only be referred.

Since the rear cabinet cover 60 is covered by the front cabinet cover 70and is not exposed to the outside, coating or polishing is not requiredfor the rear cabinet cover 60.

Here, the rear cabinet cover 60 includes a left coupling portion 161 andright coupling portion 162 that are protruded from both sides of a topend. When assembled, the coupling portions 161 and 162 are fixed to thefront upper frame 200 using coupling members 63 and 64 such as screws.

For this, the front upper frame 200 includes coupling holes 201 and 202receiving the coupling members 63 and 64, and the left and rightcoupling portions 161 and 162 include coupling holes 163 and 164corresponding to the coupling holes 201 and 202 of the front upper frame200. Therefore, the rear cabinet cover 60 can be securely fixed to thefront upper frame 200 by fitting the coupling members 63 and 64 into thecoupling holes 163 and 164 of the rear cabinet cover 60, and into thecoupling holes 201 and 202 of the front upper frame 200.

The rear cabinet cover 60 includes a bent portion 65 recessed in abackward direction.

The fabric opening 51 of the cabinet 50 is formed in the bent portion 65of the rear cabinet cover 60.

The fabric opening 51 is curled, and a portion of the gasket 300 isfitted around the curled section of the fabric opening 51.

The front cabinet cover 70 is formed of plastic by injection molding.

The front cabinet cover 70 is coupled with the rear cabinet cover 60 bya hooking structure such as a hook or a coupling member such as a screwto cover the front side of the rear cabinet cover 60.

The front cabinet cover 70 includes a stepped portion 71. The steppedportion 71 is inserted into the bent portion 65 of the rear cabinetcover 60 when the front cabinet cover 70 and the rear cabinet cover 60are assembled.

When assembled, the bent portion 65 of the rear cabinet cover 60 and thestepped portion 71 of the front cabinet cover 70 are in tight contactwith each other and receive the door 51 partially or entirely.

The stepped portion 71 includes a front fabric opening 72 that has asize larger than the (rear) fabric opening 51, such that the frontcabinet cover 70 and the rear cabinet cover 60 can be coupled with eachother without interference at the curled fabric opening 51.

The front fabric opening 72 has a diameter D2 larger than an enddiameter D1 of the rear fabric opening 51.

Meanwhile, the bottom deco panel 110 has a horizontally elongated shapeand disposed on the bottom side of the cabinet cover 50. The bottom decopanel 110 includes a left side coupled to a left side of the front lowerframe 210 and a left lower end of the cabinet 3 using a coupling member111 such as a screw, and a right side coupled to a right side of thefront lower frame 210 and a right lower end of the cabinet 3 using acoupling member 112 such as a screw.

The left deco panel 120 has a vertically elongated shape and disposed onthe left side of the cabinet cover 50. The left deco panel 120 is hookedon at least one of the front cabinet cover 70 and the rear cabinet cover60.

The right deco panel 130 has a vertically elongated shape and disposedon the right side of the cabinet cover 50. The right deco panel 120 ishooked on at least one of the front cabinet cover 70 and the rearcabinet cover 60.

The top deco panel 140 includes a left portion 141 disposed on the rightside of the control panel 80, a right portion 142 disposed on the rightside of the control panel 80, and a top portion 143 disposed on the topside of the control panel 80.

The top deco panel 140 is coupled to the front upper frame 200 usingcoupling members 148, 149, 150, and 151 such as screws.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4is an enlarged view of portion A of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the gasket 300 includes a tub couplingportion 310 fitted around a fabric opening 12 of a tub 10, a covercoupling portion 320 fitted around the curled section of the fabricopening 51.

The gasket 300 is formed into a cylindrical shape and further includes aconnection portion 340 between the tub coupling portion 310 and thecover coupling portion 320. The connection portion 340 may be foldedseveral times.

The gasket 300 has a front diameter D3 and a rear diameter D4 largerthan the front diameter.

The tub coupling portion 310 has a shape corresponding to the shape ofthe fabric opening 12 of the tub 10 and is fitted around the fabricopening 12 using a coupling member such as a clamp 313. The clamp 313may press the tub coupling portion 310 against the rim of the fabricopening 12.

The cover coupling portion 320 is shaped such that it can enclose theinside and outside surfaces of the curled section of the fabric opening51. The cover coupling portion 320 is coupled to the curled section ofthe fabric opening 51 of the rear cabinet cover 60 by fitting a couplingmember such as a clamp 322 around the cover coupling portion 320. Thecover coupling portion 320 is pressed against the curled section of thefabric opening 51 by the clamp 322. The gasket 300 further includes ascreening portion 330 extending from the cover coupling portion 320.When the cover coupling portion 320 is pressed against the curledsection of the fabric opening 51 by the clamp 322, the screening portion330 is also pressed by the clamp 322 such that more reliable sealing canbe attained.

The cover coupling portion 320 includes a door contact section such as adoor contact rib 321 which is abutted against a rear surface of the door52 when the door 52 is closed.

When the cover coupling portion 320 of the gasket 300 is coupled to thecurled section of the fabric opening 51, the screening portion 330covers the fabric opening 72 of the front cabinet cover 70, such thatthe fabric opening 72 is not exposed to the front side of the washingmachine.

The screening portion 330 extends outwardly from the cover couplingportion 320 in a radial direction and has an outer diameter D5 largerthan the diameter D2 of the fabric opening 72 of the front cabinet cover70. The screening portion 330 is formed integral with the gasket 300,for example, using a rubber material. The screening portion 330 coversthe periphery of the fabric opening 51 along the edge of the fabricopening 51.

Meanwhile, the rear cabinet cover 60 is shaped such that the screeningportion 330 can cover the fabric opening 51 without bending. That is, aportion 165 of the rear cabinet cover 60 adjacent to the curled sectionof fabric opening 51 is forwardly protruded more than a portion 166 ofthe rear cabinet cover 60 making contact with the stepped portion 71 ofthe front cabinet cover 70, such that the portion 165 is flush with thestepped portion 71. Therefore, portions 331 and 332 of the screeningportion 330 can be kept flat without bending.

In the rear cabinet cover 60, the portion 165 adjacent to the curledsection of fabric opening 51 is protruded more than the portion 166 in aforward direction by a thickness (t) of the stepped portion 71.

Reference numeral 160 denotes an assembling hole vertically formed in atop surface of the rear cabinet cover 60, and reference numeral 81denotes an assembling rib formed on a bottom surface of the controlpanel 80. The assembling rib 81 is inserted and held in the assemblinghole 160.

Meanwhile, the present invention is not limited to the above-describedembodiments. The present invention can be applied to other devices suchas a dryer and a washing machine combined with a dryer in various forms.

As described, according to the washing machine of the present invention,the fabric opening of the rear cabinet cover is curled, and the fabricopening of the front cabinet cover is larger than the curled fabricopening. The screening portion of the gasket covers the fabric openingsuch that the fabric opening of the rear cabinet cover cannot be exposedto the outside. Therefore, water cannot flow into the rear cabinet coverthrough the openings, thereby preventing corrosion of the rear cabinetcover. Further, the rear cabinet cover is not required to have the samecolor as the front cabinet cover or be coated with a coating material.Therefore, the rear cabinet cover can be manufactured through a simpleprocess with less cost.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present invention. Thus,it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

1. A washing machine comprising: a rear cabinet cover including a rearfabric opening through which fabrics pass; a front cabinet coverdisposed at a front side of the rear cabinet cover and including a frontfabric opening corresponding to the rear fabric opening; and a gasketincluding a screening portion for covering a periphery of the rearfabric opening.
 2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein thegasket seals up the rear cabinet cover.
 3. The washing machine accordingto claim 1, wherein the screening portion covers a periphery of thefront fabric opening as well as the periphery of the rear fabricopening.
 4. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein thescreening portion is in contact with peripheries of the rear fabricopening and the front fabric opening that are flush with each other. 5.The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the gasket comprises acover coupling portion that is coupled to a predetermined portion of therear cabinet cover.
 6. The washing machine according to claim 5, whereinthe screening portion outwardly extends from the cover coupling portion.7. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the gasketcomprises an inwardly-extending door contact section for makingtight-contact with a door of the washing machine.
 8. The washing machineaccording to claim 1, wherein the screening portion covers the peripheryof the rear fabric opening along a circumferential edge of the rearfabric opening.
 9. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein thescreening portion is formed integrally with the gasket.
 10. The washingmachine according to claim 1, wherein the screening portion is formed ofa rubber material.
 11. The washing machine according to claim 1, whereinthe screening portion is pressed by a coupling member used for couplingthe gasket to the rear cabinet cover.
 12. A washing machine comprising:a tub including a tub fabric opening through which fabrics pass; a rearcabinet cover disposed at a front side of the tub and including a rearfabric opening through which fabrics pass; a front cabinet coverdisposed at a front side of the rear cabinet cover and including a frontfabric opening corresponding to the rear fabric opening; and a gasketincluding a tub coupling portion coupled to the tub, a cover couplingportion coupled to at least one of the front cabinet cover and the rearcabinet cover, a connection portion connecting the tub coupling portionand the cover coupling portion, and a screening portion formed on thecover coupling portion to cover a periphery of the rear fabric openingfor sealing up the rear cabinet cover.
 13. The washing machine accordingto claim 12, wherein the screening portion covers a periphery of thefront fabric opening as well as the periphery of the rear fabricopening.
 14. The washing machine according to claim 12, wherein thescreening portion is in contact with peripheries of the rear fabricopening and the front fabric opening that are flush with each other. 15.The washing machine according to claim 12, wherein the screening portionoutwardly extends from the cover coupling portion.
 16. The washingmachine according to claim 12, wherein the screening portion covers theperiphery of the rear fabric opening along a circumferential edge of therear fabric opening.
 17. The washing machine according to claim 12,wherein the screening portion is pressed by a coupling member used forcoupling the gasket to the rear cabinet cover.
 18. A washing machinecomprising: a cabinet cover including a fabric opening through whichfabrics pass; and a gasket sealing an inside of the cabinet cover andcovering a periphery of the fabric opening.
 19. The washing machineaccording to claim 18, wherein the gasket covers the periphery of thefabric opening along a circumferential edge of the fabric opening. 20.The washing machine according to claim 18, wherein the gasket is pressedby a coupling member used for coupling the gasket to the rear cabinetcover.